1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the control of moss infestations and more particularly to a method of controlling the growth of moss, for example in golf putting greens.
2. The Prior Art
The proliferation of moss infestations in putting greens can be correlated to the asymptotic lowering of mower heights in the pursuit of “fast green speeds”. The side effect, stressing and thinning the turf cover, promotes the invasion of undesirable species, e.g. moss, to impair the consistency of the green surface as a putting medium. See Happ, Keith A. (1998) “Moss Eradication in Putting Green Turf”, USGA Green Section Record, September/October 1998.
Of the about 9,500 purported moss variations, Bryum Argentium, commonly Silvery Thread Moss, has been identified as the dominant invasive species. The botanical phylum, Briophata, includes mosses and liverworts, the simplest of land dwelling plants which, from fossil records dating back some 400 million years, prevail as enduring primitive species whose morphology, growth and survival characteristics differ radically from higher plants, e.g. the putting green turf grasses within which they coexist.
Mosses do not have roots and, in their absence, the plants anchor to a surface with rhyzoids attached to a substrate. Consequently, mosses can thrive on surfaces as dissimilar as rocks, concrete walks and masonry walls. Neither do mosses have a defined vascular system for water and nutrient delivery or, conversely, as a pathway to facilitate control or eradication.
Mosses survive long periods of drought, dehydrate and sustain prolonged dormancy, to then resume-photosynthesis upon rehydration. Receptors and patterns of water uptake have been advanced, the modus operandi of which remain obscure. Uniquely, water uptake by Bryum Argentium is comparatively rapid, categorizing the plant as being ectohydric. See Moore, C. S. and Scott, G. A. M. (1979) J. Bryol 10:291-311; Buch, H. (1945), “Uber die Wasser-und Mineralstoff-versongung der moose”, Commentat, Biol Sci, Fenn 9(16), 1-44; Chopra, R. N. and Kumra, P. K. (1988), “Alternative Pathways in Life Cycle”, Biology of Bryophysics, 5: 107-127 and 12: 308-311.
Bryum Argentium moss infestations prevail as spongelike biomasses which, when microscopically viewed in cross-section, provide a densely packed labyrinth of minuscule voids and interstices. Photomicrographs, depicted in FIG. 1, were taken at 10×, 30×, and 63× magnification to correspondingly decreasing 22 mm, 13 mm and 3.5 mm fields of view, using a Nikon SMZ Zoom Stereo Microscope with a 1× objective lens and a Nikon Coolpix 4500 4 megapixel digital camera.
Given that the surface-to-volume ratios of voids vary inversely with size and shape, Bryum Argentium infestations comparatively interface to their ambient environment with an extraordinary high biomass surface relative to volume. This key attribute, in the absence of root hairs to absorb water and leaf stomata to respire carbon dioxide and oxygen, serves to sustain photosynthesis by extended surface adsorption and absorption.
Although Bryum Argentium persists within a broad divergence of ambient parameters, remarkable exceptions have been metal contaminated soils. The toxicity sequence has been found to be Hg>Cu>Pb>Ni>Cd>Zn>Mg, the heavy metals being the most toxic. Mercury (Hg) based management controls, particularly, had been found to be highly effective but discarded for not being environmentally viable. Recently application programs using copper hydroxide based fungicides have been advanced for post-emergence moss control. See Richardson, D. H. S. (1981), “Structure and Classification”, Biology of Mosses, Halsted Press U.S.A., 1:1-5; 10:155-161; Neibocor, E. and Richardson, D. H. S. (1980) “The Replacement of the Nondescript Term Heavy Metals by a Biologically and Chemically Significant Classification of Metal Ions”, Environmental Pollution, (ser. B) 1:3-26; Coombs, A. J. and Lepp, N. W. (1974) “The Effect of Cu and Zn on the Growth of Marchantia Polymorpha and Funaria Hygrometrica”, Bryologist 77:447-452; Hummel, Norman W. (1988) “An Integrated Approach to Moss Control in Golf Course Greens”, Research Experiment, Cornell University; Simola, L. K. (1977) “Growth and Ultrastructure of Sphagnum Fimbriatum Cultured with Arsenate, Fluoride, Mercury and Copper Ions”, J. Hattori Bot Lab: 147-155; Shaw, J. A. (1991) “Ecological Genetics, Evolutionary Constraints, and the Systematics of Bryophytes”, Advances in Bryology, 4:29-74; Taylor, J & Danneberger, K. (1996) “Moss on Greens when the Rolling Stone Stops”, Golf Course Management, 64:9 53-56; Golf Course Superintendents (1997) “Moss Control Survey”, Northern Ohio Turfgrass Newsletter; Hummel, Norman W. (1994) “Methods for Moss Control”, Golf Course Management Research Report, 65:3 106-110; Rossi, F. S. (2002) “Moss Control Research at Cornell University”, Summary of 2002 Research; Dudones, D. W. (2002), “Silvery Thread Moss (Bryum Argentium) Population Reduction Strategies for Golf Course Putting Greens, M. S. Thesis—Cornell University.
However, there is still a need for a method of controlling and eradicating moss in putting greens which is simple and effective.